Category Archives: Announcements

Once again Theatre Company of Saugus (TCS) has been honored with multiple DASH nominations.  This is like the local Tony awards, “Distinguished Achievement and Special Honors”, offered by the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres (EMACT).  Reviewers watch performances of each show and make detailed ratings of all aspects.  Those with the highest ratings are nominated.  There were 192 shows this season.

Three nominations were earned by the TCS production of Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon, directed by Ryan Began, presented in February 2017.

• Supporting Actress in a Play – Angela Rossi as Bella
• Youth Actor or Actress in a Play – Zack Perry as Arty
• Youth Actor or Actress in a Play – James Cormier as Jay

In addition, several TCS members were nominated for shows done by other companies:

• Steven Bergman for Musical Direction of Sunset Boulevard at Arlington Friends of the Drama
• Shawn Gelzleichter for Musical Direction of Little Shop of Horrors at the Footlight Club
• Samantha Brior-Jones for Choreography of Young Frankenstein at the Norton Singers
• Jason Hair-Wynn for Best Actor in a Play for Extremities at Acme

The nominations were announced on a webcast on 19 July 2017.  The winners will be announced at the annual EMACT DASH Gala, which will be on Saturday 26 August starting at 6:30 PM, at Cary Hall in Lexington, Massachusetts.  Tickets can be purchased at www.emact.org.

Every year the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild holds a high school drama festival competition.  Most schools participate, sometimes advancing through first and second rounds to the state finals, held every year in Boston at John Hancock Hall.  This year the state finals were held March 30 to April 1, 2017, including shows from 14 schools out of the original 112.  This year was unusual because several schools had contributions from various Theatre Company of Saugus members.

Saugus High School brought their production of The Giver, directed by Steve Black, and featuring William Fafard Jr. in a leading role.  Also in the cast were Abbie Petipas and Toni Turilli.  Autumn Dion was the costumer, and earned an award; she also designed the hair and makeup.  Antonio Masiello was the stage manager, and the set and lighting designer.

Stoneham High School brought their production of Kindertransport.  It was directed by Sean Perry, who has been in three TCS shows over the past year.  Matthew Sherman was the dialect consultant.  Eddie and Robert Pizzano were on staff or in the show.

Winthrop High School presented Antigone.  Nicholas Raponi and Stephen Vieira provided technical support.  Winthrop was one of the three state festival winners.

St. John’s Preparatory School brought The Quest of Queen Thomas.  This show was written by Brit Christopher, who appeared in our Miscast Cabaret in December.  St. John’s was also a state festival winner.

The third state festival winner was Joseph Case High School in Swansea, Mass. and their production of Scenes from the White Snake.  Some of the winners went on to the New England festival in April.

New members were elected to the board of directors at our annual general membership meeting on 11 December 2016. New officers were elected at our board meeting on 27 December 2016.  To see the new lineup of officers and board members for 2017, please see our Board Members page.  We thank the retiring members of the board for their years of service.

TCS has a number of standing committees that provide the vital service of helping to run the organization.  Each committee has at least three members who are on the board of directors, and at least three who are general members.  The chair person can be be either, but is often a board member.  Committee meetings are held as needed, usually monthly.  If you would like to serve on any of the committees, please contact any board member, or send us a message at TCSaugus@gmail.com.

Here is a list of the standing committees.  Some of these may be combined, and new committees may be created, as the need arises.

• Finance.  Researches and proposes changes to company finances, assisting and overseeing the treasurer.
• Play Reading / Production Scheduling.  Researches and reads plays, proposes the plan for the next season (2018-2019).
• Nominating.  Creates the slate of candidates for the next board election in November 2017.
• Membership.  Maintains the membership list, promotes membership renewal and new memberships.  Recommends membership policies.
• Activities.  Plans activities for general meetings, workshops, and other company events, other than shows.
• Parliamentary / By-Laws.  Ensures that the company is running by its rules and recommends any changes to the by-laws.
• Librarian / Archivist.  Organizes records and materials and provides when needed.
• Publicity.  Creates and distributes advertisements and news releases, social media announcements, and the website to keep the public informed about shows and events.
• Newsletter.  Writes and edits the email newsletter and website posts to keep the membership informed about company shows and events.
• Scholarship.  Evaluates the scholarship applications from Saugus High School students and recommends a recipient.  Recommends policies about scholarships.
• Fundraising / Community Outreach.  Solicits sponsorships, plans and executes fundraising events.  Organizes TCS participation with other groups.
• Facilities Management / Building Acquisition.  Supervises our relationship with the landlords of our rented rehearsal, performance, and storage locations.  Researches alternate housing options.

TCS mourns the passing of Stephen R. Walsh, age 83, from Swampscott, on November 30, 2016.  Steve played the role of Boris Semyonov-Pishchik in our 2009 production of The Cherry Orchard.  He played the lead role of Sganarelle in The Forced Marriage, one of the two short one-act plays in our 2007 production From Moliere with Love.  Steve was also in productions with the Winthrop Playmakers, Marblehead Little Theatre, and other local community theatres.

Click here for information about the funeral arrangements.

You are welcome to attend the Town of Saugus Annual Tree Lighting and Festivities.  On Friday 2 December 2016, from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM.  At the Saugus Town Hall, on Central Street at the corner of Hamilton Street, adjacent to the monument in Saugus Center.

Many fun filled activities for the whole family!  All activities free for Saugus residents.

• Preview performance of In / Out – A Mis-Cast Cabaret by Theatre Company of Saugus
• Gingerbread House Decorating Contest (must have pre-registered)
• Story Time (sponsored by the Library)
• Meet and Greet with Santa.  Goodie Bags.
• Hot Chocolate and Cookies
• Petting Zoo
• Train Rides (weather permitting)
• Moon Bounce (weather permitting)
• Face Painting
• Hay Rides

Share the Joy!  Donate a new unwrapped toy!

The Theatre Company of Saugus will present the next show in the Nunsense series of musical comedies about funny nuns, Nunsense 2, The Second Coming, the large cast version.

We have changed the performance dates to the third and fourth weekends in June 2017.  June 16-17-18 and 23-24-25. 

We have added an additional audition date, Wednesday 8 March 2017, starting at 7:00 PM.

For complete information, please see our Auditions page.

(We believe there will be fewer conflicts for actors and audience than our previously planned performance dates, May 12-13-14 and 19-20-21, 2017.)

All previous cast members of our previous Nunsense shows are invited back to reprise their roles in Nunsense 2, as the script requires.

We are also seeking a Choreographer for this production.  To apply for the position, please contact the Theatre Company of Saugus by sending a message to TCSaugus@gmail.com.  Include all your contact information, a theatrical resume, and a statement explaining your interest in the project.  We will contact you to schedule an interview with the board of directors.